HOUSE AND GARDEN 
144 
September, 1913 
division of the sash would be as follows: Two double light sash 
costing about $7.00, four single light sash costing $10.00, four 
cloth-covered sash costing $2.00, three double-sized burlap mats 
costing $3.00 — a total of $22.00. 
In addition to this, the lumber for the frame would cost from 
five to ten dollars, depending upon the 
price per thousand feet in your vicin¬ 
ity. The cost of a concrete frame in¬ 
stead of a wooden one would depend 
almost entirely upon the price you 
would have to pay for the sand and 
gravel, as the amount of cement used 
would not be very great. In most in¬ 
stances, unless you have the sand and 
gravel on your own place, the cost 
would be more than for wood, but as 
has already been stated, it would be 
much cheaper in the end. After the 
frame is put up two partitions should 
be built across it, to divide the spaces 
for the two double light sash, the four 
single light sash, and the cloth-covered 
sash. If the frame is a long one it 
should be strengthened by crossbars 
every three or four sashes apart, to 
keep the side walls from warping out 
of position; or they may be put in 
every three feet even with the sash as 
described above. It is a great conveni¬ 
ence, however, to have them removable. 
It is time to begin work now for the 
crops you will want this fall and this 
winter. The first step in this direction 
is the selection of varieties of vegeta¬ 
bles which are good for growing in 
frames, as the use of the wrong sorts, 
even with other conditions all favor¬ 
able, may mean failure instead of suc¬ 
cess. In lettuce there is Grand Rapids for the loose heading sort 
and Big Boston and Wayahead, both of which make fine, solid 
crisp heads and will thrive in a cool temperature. For your first 
attempt it will be best to try several varieties, so that you can tell 
which will give you the best results under the conditions which 
you have. The Grand 
Rapids, grown under 
glass, is deliciously 
tender, and in my 
opinion in no way in¬ 
ferior to the head let¬ 
tuces, although the 
latter are, of course, 
more blanched in the 
centers. Of radishes 
there are a number ot 
good sorts for using 
in frames, but after 
trying a number of 
varieties I now use 
nothing but the Crim¬ 
son Giant Globe and 
the White Icicle. Both 
these varieties, be¬ 
sides being of good 
size and quick to ma¬ 
ture, have the fur¬ 
ther great advantage 
of remaining an ex¬ 
traordinarily long time without growing pithy, so that not more 
than half the number of plantings have to be made as with such 
sorts as the old-fashioned French Breakfast. Of cauliflowers, 
both Early Snowball and Best Extra Early make a very compact, 
quick growth, and are early maturing and well suited to growth 
in frames. Either Victoria or Hardy 
Winter spinach is suitable for winter 
growth under glass, and the former, 
while it will not stand quite so much 
cold, is of better quality. Personally, 
however, I prefer Swiss chard, which 
will give you repeated cuttings, and 
where the weather is not too severe 
can be used right through the winter 
until you need the frame for other 
purposes in the spring. 
Of the vegetables suitable for fall 
planting, the lettuce, cauliflower and 
parsley should be started early, the lat¬ 
ter part of August or early in Septem¬ 
ber, and transplanted later to the 
frames. The radishes, spinach or 
Swiss chard and also onions for bunch 
onions early in the spring, and carrots, 
if you prefer to use some of your 
coldframe space to have these fresh 
rather than to depend upon those 
stored in the cellar, should be planted 
where they are to grow, but the rows 
may be made and the beds prepared 
long before it is necessary to use the 
glass to protect them from cold weath¬ 
er. If you put them in about the same 
time that you sow the others for the 
first group they will give you results 
early in the winter. 
The soil in the frames should be 
made rich, mellow and deep by the ad¬ 
dition of well-rotted manure to the soil, or by filling in, unless the 
soil that is in the frame is already in good condition, with several 
inches of good garden soil. The ground should be soaked thor¬ 
oughly at least several hours before planting, and it is advisable 
to have some method of shading the seed bed until after the 
plants are up, in case 
of hot, dry weather. 
An excellent way of 
doing this is to use 
one or two of the 
frames for the seed 
bed. Then one of the 
cloth - covered sash 
may be put over this, 
supported on a tem¬ 
porary framework a 
foot or two above the 
frame, and furnishes 
the right degree of 
shade without exclud¬ 
ing the air. The let¬ 
tuce and cauliflower 
should be transplant¬ 
ed once before being 
set in their permanent 
positions, giving the 
little seedlings three 
(Continued on page 
169) 
When the tomato plants have attained considerable 
size they should be transplanted 
On bright days that are sufficiently warm the sash may be taken off altogether, for good 
ventilation is important for success with late crops under glass 
